WHY?!

Could someone please explain to me why venue owners, particularly in Camden, believe that someone 17 years, 11 months and 21 days old does not have the right to enjoy live music, while someone born just 10 days earlier does? Why they turn hardcore fans away in favour of people indifferent to the music?

For me, following my favourite unsigned bands is something I take very seriously; seeing one of them live is an incomparable experience, so it’s understandable that I’m pissed off about having to miss gigs due to strict IDing policies. After months of avoiding any gigs in Camden, today was the final straw. Plastik, my favourite unsigned band, who I’ve followed obsessively for two years now, have just adopted a new guitarist, so naturally I was brimming with excitement about seeing them. So, imagine my horror when I was greeted at the door of The Dublin Castle with “No ID, no entry”. I tried begging, I tried bribing, I tried promises of sexual favours, but nada. There were no words of consolation, no empathy of any kind, just “No ID, no entry” repeated mechanically, and angry expressions when I searched desperately for the band through the window, as if I would somehow jump through the glass, run straight to the bar, and order massive amounts of alcohol before reporting the club to the police for serving minors. Realising the futility of my actions, I was eventually persuaded by my friends to go for consolatory dough-balls, but only after shouting profanities in the bouncer’s gormless face.

How hard would it be for venues to start using a nifty stamp, along the lines of DO NOT SERVE THIS GIRL ALCOHOL, so that, if there ever were a raid (extremely unlikely anyway), there would not be the risk of them having their license revoked for serving the underage? Of course, it will never happen, no matter how much I complain. Why? Because venues makes more money from the sale of alcohol than the entrance money people pay to see bands, so encouraging the entrance of under 18s into the venue means their profit will fall. The net result is that people who just want to get pissed get to see bands they don’t even care about, while the real fans are left out in the cold.

I’ve always refused to buy a fake ID, as, thanks to a dodgy liver, I can’t actually drink alcohol. Why should I have to break the law just to be able to watch some indie scenesters strut around with guitars? Now, however, it seems like attempting to get hold of a fake passport is the only option available. Worse still, when I finally turn 18 in a few, torturously long months, there’s a possibility that some venues will start admitting over 21s only. By the time I’m eventually allowed into a gig in Camden, I’ll be too old to enjoy the music anymore!

“What’s the point of this long and rambling rant?” you ask. Well, it’s a call to arms. To repeat the old cliché, we need action and we need it now. Bands and fans have to get together to boycott these venues and promote places where under 18s are free to enjoy the music they love. Music should not be controlled by entrepreneurs who want to cash in on our collective alcohol addiction, but accessible to those willing to journey to the middle of nowhere for a glimpse of their favourite band.